1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the substantial removal of moisture and dust from air flowing into a compartment, and to a louver device for opening and closing access of airflow to the compartment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to the prior art, devices for removing moisture, dust, dirt and other loose particles from airstreams to or from a compartment involve employing a separate filter unit to clean the airflow with a separate closure device to restrict the ingress and egress of the airflow to the compartment. Such devices have been used in a wide variety of situations, including shipboard, compartments for land vehicles, buildings having moist air flowing therethrough, different cabinets and enclosures, refrigeration compartments, air handlers used in ventilating systems, power stations, laboratories and the like. The use of separate filters adds expense to the elimination of moisture and dust and to opening and closing the ingress and egress of a compartment, and adds cost due to the apparatus relating to the filter.
A polluted solution, be it gas or liquid, may be purified by passing it through an impingement filter. The action of inducing the solution to change direction and the particles to adhere to the filter medium is the function of the filter medium. In many cases this filter medium is scientifically designed to contain apertures of specific size which will filter out the impurities in the solution. The gas or liquid, less impurities, is permitted free passage through the medium.
In known impingement mist separators, the separating louvers are typically supported in parallel fashion with respect to one another to define a plurality of openings through which the gas may pass. The separating louvers usually include a plurality of protrusions or hooks for trapping water droplets, which impinge on the separating louvers.
The series of protrusions or hooks define channels in which the liquid droplets and dust tend to stay when removed from the air or other gas. The object is to remove the liquid from the channels while preventing their re-entrainment into the gas flow.
When a liquid-containing gas flows through a mist eliminator of this general type, the inertia of the moving liquid droplets causes them to diverge from the direction of flow of the gas stream as the gas travels through a tortuous path and the liquid droplets impinge on the surface of the separating plates. The magnitude of the entraining forces which act to prevent the elimination of the liquid droplets from the gas stream depend on the gas velocity, the mass of the drop, the viscosity of the gas, and the geometric relations in the separating structure.
Louver apparatus presently available are fixed. Each louver is attached to some mounting plate or the like and is unable to close the air passageway where the louver apparatus is disposed. It would be advantageous in some instances to be able to close the passageway other than by incorporating an additional door or other closure device.